On Sunday, as the U.S. military announced that it had initiated airstrikes targeting ISIS in western Iraq, President Obama made an appearance on “Meet the Press” to give a sense of what he’ll have to say on Wednesday when he formally outlines America’s strategy for targeting the militant Islamist group.

Among the latest developments in the Syrian humanitarian crisis, China and Russia have reaffirmed their opposition to a forced regime change; Turkey and Japan joined 11 other countries in expelling Syrian diplomats, and the U.N.’s Human Rights Council is due to meet to discuss the massacre in the city of Houla.

Despite news of the Syrian government’s acceptance of a peace plan brought in by special envoy Kofi Annan a day before, by Wednesday it was clear that those headlines didn’t mean much in the way of actual progress in Syria.

Former United Nations secretary-general and current U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said Tuesday that his bid to get Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (above) and his administration to accept a peace plan Annan proposed has been successful. Enacting it, however, is another matter.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit to the United Nations Security Council on Monday to appeal once again to the international community about the crisis in Syria, making pointed remarks in the general direction of China and Russia as she urged all member nations to get with the regime change program, and soon.

Two days after Russia and China blocked a U.N. resolution calling for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down, violence in Homs stepped up a big notch, with near-constant shelling rocking the volatile Syrian city.

As the crisis in Syria reached new levels of urgency Friday, the United Nations Security Council met to work up a resolution pressuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The U.N. group faced a formidable challenge, however, from a prominent and permanent member, according to the BBC.

Arab League, shmarab league. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is evidently still unwilling to make room for the possibility that he is in anything resembling a precarious position, as he made a defiant speech on Tuesday in Damascus, blaming foreign media for making him look bad and dissing the Arab League.

The presence of delegates from the Arab League hasn’t eradicated the deadly clashes between governmental forces and civilians in Syria, although some of the more obvious signs of strife had diminished by Monday. According to the head of the visiting coalition, the violence persists from behind the scenes as snipers continue to claim lives.

As many as 1 million Syrians poured into streets across the country Friday to show visiting members of the Arab League that they are suffering under President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Even with the league’s monitors present, however, the government is reported to have killed dozens of people and injured many more with nail bombs, live ammunition and tear gas.

Delegates from the Arab League arrived in Syria on Monday in yet another attempt to resolve the crisis that’s only intensified since the Syrian government made the evidently hollow gesture last week of agreeing to stop military-enabled assaults on its own people and allow observation from outside its borders.

Monday’s broadcast of “Democracy Now!” included this segment on the status of the crisis in Syria, two days after the Arab League suspended Syria’s membership and eight months into the battle between opposition members and President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has drawn criticism from leaders of neighboring nations, most notably those in the Arab League, for his iron-fisted crackdown on dissenters in his country. On Monday, King Abdullah of Jordan ramped up the pressure on Assad to step down by ... (more)

So much for promises: Although Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s administration made a very public peace deal just nine days ago, 26 people were reported killed Friday as protesters came out in force in hopes that the Arab League ... (more)

Just a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appeared to concede to an Arab League-brokered plan to decrease violence between government forces and protesters, it was clear that the opposition was right in maintaining a skeptical stance. (more)

Remember the conflict in Syria? You know, the one involving President Bashar al-Assad and the protesters in his country clamoring for regime change? It’s still happening. Some 3,000 Syrians have lost their lives in the struggle, and ... (more)

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wasn’t thrilled with the U.N. Security Council’s go-ahead to let U.S. and European forces fire on Moammar Gadhafi’s troops in Libya, and he said so Monday. He wasn’t alone in his criticism of what began as ...

Although Col. Moammar Gadhafi announced on national television Wednesday that he will “fight until the last man and woman,” the outcome of fighting in the town of Brega between troops still going to battle for the Libyan leader and rebels ...

The prospect of Palestinian-Israeli “proximity talks” in the Middle East has hit another expected bump: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend any such talks unless Israel halts settlement construction.

Despite the arrest warrant recently issued for him by the International Criminal Court, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has made a defiant move by showing up in Qatar to attend the 21st Arab League summit meeting, at which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also slated to appear.

Although an International Criminal Court prosecutor has accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of genocide in Darfur, Bashir begs to differ and Sudan is refusing to cooperate with the court. Meanwhile, some United Nations representatives are preparing to leave Sudan as concerns build about a potential violent backlash to the charge.

One of Bush’s biggest buddies in the Mideast, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, described the Iraq war as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” while pleading for Arab unity. His remarks came during a summit of the Arab League, which plans to approach Israel with a renewed diplomatic effort.

The Iraqi government has invited Bush administration antagonists Iran and Syria to Baghdad for security talks, which might also include the Arab League and the United Nations. The United States has not received an invitation.

The brutal logic that Israel and Hezbollah are following goes like this: Inflict as many deaths on the enemy as possible in the next few days—in order to strengthen your hand before sitting down at the bargaining table.